Thursday, 12 May 2011

Bored To Death

TV Series

I’m going to assume that you haven’t seen Bored To Death – chances are a few of you caught the, frankly rubbish, first episode and decided not to invest your precious time.

I too saw episode one and decided to opt out. It seems that nobody managed to tell my Sky + box and thus I discovered a few further episodes stored away. Partly down to curiosity and partly down to the fact that it has Zach Galifianakis (who I love), I decided to have a run at a couple more episodes. Whilst I can’t describe it as initially gripping, I must confess episode two was an improvement and by the end of episode three I was pretty chuffed.

This is a comedy/detective/light-hearted series that grows on you. It is ridiculous and a bit naff, but it is also getting funnier and funnier by the episode, has extremely likeable characters, great performances, and the writers have really gotten into their groove. Perhaps someone gave them funny pills or just a massive injection of confidence, as this is waaaaay above what was initially served up.

The hero Jason Schwartzman is a diminutive struggling writer who has set himself up as an unlicensed detective with a pot addiction. He has a broken heart, a quirky best friend (Galifianakis) with many personal problems of his own, and an even more quirky boss played by the ever classy Ted Danson.

In this week’s episode Schwartzman is enlisted to assist Galifianakis in tracking down two lesbians to whom he has been donating sperm for the past few weeks. Sample dialogue:

Galifianakis:“ What if they got in a car accident, what if they are in a coma?”

Schwartzman: “I don’t think they would both be in a coma.”

Galifanakis: “They do everything together”.

Our apprentice detectives set out to track down the ladies to alleviate Galifianakis’ concerns. What they stumble onto reveals that the ladies have been selling his sperm on the black market to lesbian couples. As they visit each couple from a list of 30, Galifianakis becomes more and more upset to discover that none of his samples have worked, leading him to believe he is impotent.

Whist all this is going on, Ted Danson who is a magazine publisher has a run-in with an archenemy that taunts him about his age and faltering readership. Danson decides to publish an article decrying his enemy and claiming he has a “mouth like a starfish’s anus”. One thing leads to another and by the end of the episode Danson has accepted a boxing match with his nemesis and Schwartzman has been roped in to fight the nasty sidekick. Once again Galifianakis jumps in: “what about me, I wanna fight, can I get in on this…” And up pops ‘To be continued…”